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21 FEGGA member Greenkeeper Associations gathered in Sofia, Bulgaria on 20th & 21st February for the 22nd Annual FEGGA Conference. This truly global, two-day conference, included the latest initiatives from the R&A, GEO, European Golf Club Owners Association, STERF, and the GCSAA – ably supported by Kajanni and Elmwood Colleges via video links. The focus of the Conference was very clearly aimed at linking Best Practice to Business to ensure European Greenkeeping helps Golf be sustainable, environmentally responsible, and profitable.

Golf in Bulgaria was at the opening of the agenda and Yavor Atanasov (Chairman of the Bulgarian Golf Greenkeepers Association) opened the meeting with a clear description of the growth of the game in Bulgaria, and the aims and objectives of the B.G.G.A..

FEGGA launched several initiatives aimed at the Greenkeeper members of its Associations. These included the opportunities of a place on the Ryder Cup Support Team at Le Golf National; the opportunity of a study tour for an Association; and the opportunity of taking part in the Greenkeeper Experience Programmes in several different formats. Any Association or Association member who is interested in personal development is urged to contact his home Association who will make arrangements with FEGGA.

All this alongside the development of the FEGGA Statement of Responsible Golf Course Management which is making progress on two separate fronts.
• The process of being translated into all major European Languages, assisted by Edwin Roald of Iceland. FEGGA asks that all Associations now complete a translation.
• The introduction of a “Responsible Toolbox” and also the possibility of creating a future “Pinterest Board”. This will be an area where members can place and read practical greenkeeping information, and view case studies of successful, quantified greenkeeping projects such as composting, wild flower establishment, renovation of playing surfaces etc.. The Pin Board will also be a place for Association news and events, Partner news and events, and industry developments.

FEGGA also delivered information through a webinar about a Sterf supported research project “Susphos” that they are partners of. This was presented by Trygve Aamlid, professor at the Norwegian Institute for Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO). “Susphos” is focusing Sustainable phosphorus (P) fertilization on golf courses during 2017-20.

We are all working hard at trying to be more successful in how we deliver our social media, and in doing so we invited Emma Ballard from Medi8 to present her thoughts on this subject. Emma gave a real overview of the many tools that are available, and how best to use them. She also gave some very clear examples of what works and what doesn’t, and why.

In summary: Paul Worster said on behalf of the FEGGA Board that this was a major step forward for FEGGA in its stated objective of “Bringing people and Organisations together”.

The two days and nights included the FEGGA AGM where out-going Chairman Kamil Pecenka was thanked by the Czech Greenkeepers Association for his years in Office on the FEGGA Board which stretched to almost ten. This was wholly and unanimously endorsed by the Meeting. Incoming Chairman Paul Worster paid tribute to the FEGGA

Board and said that Kamil Pecenka was a giant among European Greenkeepers and had set a very high bar.

Proposals for the 2018 Board were elected by the meeting as good as unanimously; Chairman Paul Worster (UK); Vice-Chairman Joel Nunes (Portugal); established members Emmi Pietarila (Finland) and Darko Cecelja (Slovenia); Martin Nilsson (Denmark) was elected to the board; and Patron representative & advisor Erich Steiner of Steiner & Partners continued in this current position. This is a strong and representative Board which is looking forward to continuing the work of FEGGA.

Evening activities included watching a display of fire-eating and fire-dancing in the nearby Vitosha Mountains; and watching & taking part in traditional Bulgarian dance in a city restaurant following a guided tour of the city of Sofia. The Bulgarian Golf Greenkeepers Association was thanked for assisting with the organisation of all the events, and for their extraordinary hospitality which was hugely appreciated.

Delegates returned home motivated and inspired and FEGGA received many messages of support looking forward not only to the 2019 FEGGA Conference, but also to 2020 when FEGGA will host the International Summit as part of its Conference.

FEGGA is very proud of its partnerships, and for this Conference, want to say a big thank you to John Deere Golf, Syngenta and The Toro Company.

FEGGA closes by urging participation in its offerings and activities which range from introducing the opportunity of receiving Webinars for top-quality education, to support for Associations, to development for individual greenkeepers of member countries.

Paul Worster has the final thought – if there is one word for all of us to focus on; it is “Communication”. Expect to be hearing more from FEGGA during 2018.

This is a wonderful opportunity for greenkeepers to be part of golfs most prominent golfing event, and also the third largest sporting event in the World. FEGGA, and its supporting Partners, Capillary Concrete and Le Golf National are able to offer 10 Support Team placements which will be working to Showcase the peak best practices in the industry in providing the ultimate in playing conditions for arguably the world’s top 24 professional golfers from Europe and the USA.

This opportunity will also combine education, networking and business relationship opportunities, which will enhance what will be a memorable experience for all attending as chosen Support Team Members.

Every Greenkeeper / Superintendent member of a FEGGA National Greenkeeper Association is invited to submit an application to qualify to attend, and to be part of this unique team of outstanding professionals for those lucky enough to be selected. (all applicants must be supported by their respected association)

It will provide unique hands on experience at preparing and maintaining the Albatross Course at Le Golf National, both before and during the Ryder Cup Matches. This will also be combined with educational sessions, and career development clinics led by leading teachers in our industry.

This will be 7 days of unique experience, and education. Meeting colleagues from all countries in a work/education environment, topped with the electrifying excitement of that unique live Ryder Cup experience.

This opportunity also builds on one of the strong missions of FEGGA of“Bringing people and Organisations together”

All Greenkeepers /Superintendents being selected will have:

All accommodation and food provided during their stay

Will be supplied with a Ryder Cup uniform

Will be given support of €150 for their respected travel from home to the selected airport in Paris (Europe)

All applicants are required to:

Have a minimum of three years’ experience working as a greenkeeper and been member of their respected Association for a period of two years

Must be able to work the period 24 -30 September 2018

Confirm they will conduct themselves to the highest possible standard while on site adhering to The Le Golf National rules and regulations and codes of work practices during their stay

All applications to be submitted through an official application form through the link below

Following leadership from The Federation of European Golf Greenkeeper Associations, greenkeepers all over Europe have come together in a pledge for responsible and sustainable golf course management. All of FEGGA‘s 22 European national greenkeeping organizations have agreed to promote and endorse a clear, detailed and ambitious strategic vision that embraces golf‘s potential to produce multiple benefits for nature and man. Included within this collaboration were representatives of the R&A and the GEO Foundation, and the result is the FEGGA Statement of Responsible Golf Course Management.

“To put this Statement into context, many ordinary people throughout Europe in the course of their everyday lives have major concerns relating to consumption of energy & resources, and the release of particulates and emissions,” says FEGGA board member Paul Worster, himself a Golf Course Manager. “We are all familiar with the terms climate change and global warming and every industry is required to deliver a clean and non-polluting service. However, very few regular golfers would have any concept of any standards within the Golf Industry to prepare a golf course for play, each and every day. The Statement sets these out and looks for ways to improve,” Worster adds.

According to FEGGA Board Chairman, Kamil Pecenka, the purpose of the FEGGA Statement is not to rigidly dictate to every greenkeeper how to do their job. Rather, the aim is to communicate the job that is done, and the solid reasoning and environmental principles behind it. The Statement is to give guidance and direction to the greenkeeping team, and is to be regarded as a tool with which to communicate with members, visitors and owners.

The FEGGA board aims is to translate the document into all the member Associations native languages, and with six completed 2 of which are available to view below, a real positive start has been made. This will certainly allow the document to reach more people, and for them to see the commitment FEGGA is making once again to Sustainable Golf Course Management.
Another build on to the document is to make it electronically interactive, providing links to simple but important information and guidance for greenkeepers and golf clubs to help them with their own journey of sustainable management. It then becomes a real resource within the FEGGA toolbox.

FEGGA Executive Officer Dean Cleaver says that FEGGA plans to continually build on this initial statement and include case studies from successful projects and working practices. “We will not pull any punches here. As well as inspiring our people to improve environmental performance, the package needs to be a sensible, useful, practical working guide as to how to make improvements, and how to answer questions and scrutiny from those who pay for the maintenance of our courses. In short, we need to be credible and convincing and the document needs to be exactly that.”
To name a couple of examples, he adds: “We automatically sort our domestic rubbish these days, so why would the golf club be any different? Why would the club not want to take the trouble? The document aims to identify the easiest ways to achieve this, and the ways to inspire your customers to want to be a part.

Drinking water supplies are not only coming under pressure, but drinking water carries a high amount of embedded energy, e.g. that energy which is required to pump it from source to a treatment plant, process it for human consumption, and then pipe it to the user. Why would we be literally splashing this crucial resource all over our golf course? The Statement prompts the direct need to secure some other supply such as groundwater. Will this cost a fortune, or will it actually save money? Speaking from a UK perspective, drinking water supplied via a water-meter can cost around one pound per cubic metre. Borehole water costs 2 pence for the same amount. Therefore the borehole installation pays for itself in a very short time.

Keeping it local and keeping it simple also saves money. Large companies learned this some time ago. Golf can pick up this example and run with it. The FEGGA statement covers all these points and more. We encourage greenkeepers and clubs to come on board with us to make this great game even better,” says FEGGA’s Paul Worster in conclusion.

On 16th and 17th of November 2017 the Bulgarian Golf Greenkeepers Association celebrated its 10th anniversary. The event was remarkable for the industry with a two days conference. It was held in Central Hotel Sofia. There were 42 people participating which is a great success for our Association.

The afternoon on 16th we had the honour to listen to our main sponsor’s presentation – Andrew Brown and Teodor Denchev (Toro Company) and Simon Taylor (ICL Company). It was great that these two companies were with us from the very beginning and I can easily say that the partnership through the years became a great privilege for both sides.

For the rest of the day the members had the opportunity to meet Campey Turf Care Systems presented by Ian Pogson. That really made the audience impressed and engaged. The final speech for the day was given by Edgardo Ticozzi introducing his company (Universe Manure Company SRL). The guests saw very broad spectrum of products.

A gala dinner was set in a Bulgarian restaurant for all participants in the next day of FEGGA Roadshow conference. The discussions and the enthusiastic conversations were endless.

FEGGA Development Roadshow was held on the next day. This event was organised in partnership with R&A. It is the third one in our country for the last 4 years. It proves the close relationship between BGGA and FEGGA. FEGGA supported our industry not only through educations but also made an input in interexchange programs and visits to football clubs in UK recently. We are very proud how the Association is growing and we have a clear vision for moving forward.

The Roadshow had a great success as usual. The main focus was the Integrated Pest Management. The members had the opportunity to listen to Anne Mette Dahl Jensen, cand. Scient. Ph.D.,Senior advisor – Turfgrass – University of Copenhagen and Giovanni Nava – Superintendent – Riviera Golf Club, Italy. They both inspired our guests with their knowledge and experience. Wendy Cole (Sustainability at R&A) and Paul Miller (SRUC Elmwood College) made short presentation of the available educations and benefits of them.

The members had the opportunity to meet, speak and listen two person with the highest reputation in greenkeepers industry – Dean Cleaver (Executive Officer – FEGG) and Kamil Pecenka (Chairman – FEGGA). As part of the FEGGA Roadshow the seminar included short presentations of two of our golf courses “St. Sofia Golf Club” by Ventsilav Nikov (superintendent) and “Black Sea Rama Golf Club” by Stanimir Angelov (superintendent). ]
The members really came out enriched with knowledge and “out of the box” thinking after this event. The discussions and interactions during and after the conference prove its success. The feedback from the people for these two days was very positive and encouraging. The right way of development and progress in the Association showed the hard work behind the scene.

The Bulgarian Golf Greenkeepers Association is proud what we as an Organization achieved through the years. BGGA showed progress by declaring to be the teaching body for the turf industry in Bulgaria. The support of FEGGA (not only for the Roadshow) and the partnership with other Associations, golf clubs and football pitches prove how things will go forward for the BGGA. As the chairman of the Association I can confirm that no matter that we are small, we are growing strong. Our members became a turf family and I am glad to say we are more than ever one team.

The Future Turf Managers Initiative 2018, made possible by Jacobsen, a Textron Golf brand, will take place at the company’s HQ in Ipswich from 6-8 March 2018.

Aimed at up and coming greenkeepers who want to make the leap to Course Manager, FTMI focuses on personal and professional development. The FTMI programme utilises the expertise of leading Course Managers, dynamic trainers and industry experts to mentor and educate the next generation of industry leaders.

Karen Proctor, Director Global Marketing at Textron Golf, said: “This will be the sixth year that we will be welcome 20 selected BIGGA Members to take part in the Future Turf Managers Initiative.

“It’s a valuable personal and career development opportunity that we offer and we very much look forward to welcoming the Class of 2018 to our UK headquarters in Ipswich.”

Sami Strutt, Head of Member Development at BIGGA said: “We saw an increase of almost 40% in the number of applications received for FTMI 2018. Every year the selection process gets more difficult due to high quality applicants.

“The 20 successful candidates can expect to be challenged and pushed out of their comfort zone by the trainers, mentors and the Textron Golf and BIGGA teams, but they will definitely learn a lot and make some lifelong friends along the way.”

Daniel Grant (left) was presented with his award, which included gift vouchers to the value of £300 for golf equipment at Swedish golf store Dormy, at Tomelilla Golf Club by John Deere International’s Swedish territory manager Peter Lundgren. (Photograph supplied by the Swedish Greenkeepers Association/SGA magazine Greenbladet.)

Swedish greenkeeper Daniel Grant is the 2017 winner of SRUC Elmwood’s annual John Deere HNC Student of the Year Award, sponsored by John Deere and Scottish turf dealer Double A. Daniel was selected for his outstanding commitment and attitude to his programme of studies at HNC Golf Course Management level during the 2016/2017 academic year.

Daniel, aged 27, works at Tomelilla Golf Club in Skåne, near his home town of Ystad, which has an 18-hole main course, a nine-hole short course and Footgolf. Although born and working in Sweden, Daniel has a Scottish pedigree – his father John is the golf professional at PGA Sweden National at Bara near Malmo, having moved from Scotland to Sweden in 1987 to work at Ystad Golf Club.

The HNC course at SRUC’s Elmwood campus in Cupar, Fife, was recommended by PGA Sweden National course manager Barry Crawford – another Scot, who gained the same qualification there, among others – when Daniel was working for him as a seasonal greenkeeper.

“The course was a fantastic experience,” said Daniel. “I really was not expecting to receive this award, so it was a very pleasant surprise, especially as I never planned to be a greenkeeper! It came into focus when I need a full-time job after Swedish National Service. I really enjoyed my seasonal work at PGA Sweden National and Ystad Golf Club, and after the army I decided this was what I wanted to do full-time. I’m very happy being a greenkeeper, and want to progress as far as I can.”

The course covers many different areas such as ecology, soil science, irrigation, drainage, design and construction, the history and development of golf and much more. For Daniel’s year it finished with a graded unit where the students had to present a management plan for Auchterderran Golf Course, near Kirkcaldy in Fife.

“Although Daniel brought several years’ experience and very evident practical abilities to the course, it was his engagement with learning and the desire to develop his knowledge and learn even more that shone through in all his work,” said his SRUC Elmwood course tutor Stuart Mackie.

“His attention to detail and the depth of his analysis allowed him to present assignments that provided the required evidence and fully engaged the reader in understanding his conclusions. His nomination was very well deserved for the work he put into every subject.”

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (Nov, 28, 2017) – The 2017 Waste Management Phoenix Open achieved another first in golf sustainability, becoming the first tournament in the world to attain “GEO Certified® Tournament” status from Scotland-based GEO Foundation (GEO).

To become a “GEO Certified® Tournament” the Waste Management Phoenix Open, the largest attended tournament on the PGA TOUR, followed principles set out in the newly released “Voluntary Sustainable Golf Tournament Standard” and achieved outstanding results in six categories: Planning, Site Protection, Procurement, Resource Management, Access and Equity, and Community Legacy. Sustainability highlights from the tournament include:

• 100% landfill diversion through recycling, composting, donation, reuse and waste-to-energy.
• 63.3 million gallons of water restored to the Colorado River Basin and Verde River through the Waste Management Phoenix Open Water Campaign with Bonneville Environmental Foundation.
• 720 MtCO2e of carbon offsets with a strong socio-economic focus purchased, to cover more than double the emissions from tournament operations, player travel and volunteer travel.
• Zero Waste Stations used to engage attendees, educating and encouraging involvement in sustainability.
• An annual Waste Management Phoenix Open Sustainability Report with detailed metrics and program explanations.
• A venue Environmental Management Plan and commitment to become a fully GEO Certified® golf facility.
• Protection of ecologically sensitive areas and minimized impact of temporary structures and heavy machinery through a Site Protection Plan.
• Over $10.1 million raised and awarded to local charities through The Thunderbirds and $100,000 donated to environmental organizations from Green Out Day.
• Local youth engagement and free admission for local police, firefighters, active and retired military personnel.

The GEO accolade is the culmination of many years of commitment, planning and delivery on the part of Waste Management, the tournament host The Thunderbirds and other tournament sponsors, stakeholders, and vendors to ensure a comprehensive sustainability effort covering all aspects of the tournament. Sustainability efforts of the tournament have been validated through in-depth third-party verification, including the Council for Responsible Sport, UL and GEO.
To achieve GEO certification, the venue and organizers must complete a custom-built program for golf tournaments, that is both streamlined and robust, including: document and evidence submission, a third-party verification carried out by the Council for Responsible Sport (the official verification body for GEO Certified® Tournaments in North America), a thorough review by GEO, and agreement to a range of Continual Improvement Points.

Paula Davey, Director of Sales and Marketing at Waste Management, said: “The achievement is another proud milestone for our organization and reinforces the Waste Management Phoenix Open as the ‘Greenest Show on Grass.’ Waste Management not only wants to stand out as a leading environmental services provider, but we hope to change how golf tournaments and communities view sustainability everywhere.”

Tom Carpenter, Director of Waste Management’s Sustainability Services, added: “GEO validates the wide variety of social, economic and environmental initiatives we work on year-round with tournament host The Thunderbirds. Becoming the first tournament to become GEO Certified® demonstrates the commitment to sustainability across all Waste Management Phoenix Open operations.”

Jonathan Smith, Executive Director of GEO Foundation, said: “There is absolutely no doubt that the Waste Management Phoenix Open deserves this accolade. If you look at the breadth and depth of what they have done to date, and the social and environmental targets they have set for the future, they are clearly leading in the practical delivery of sustainability in and through golf, as well as inspiring so many others, in golf, in business and in the community.

While there are other tournaments on the PGA TOUR, European Tour, and Majors such as The Open stepping strongly into sustainability, it is fair to say the Waste Management Phoenix Open has pushed some boundaries of how sports events can engage fans on environmental issues, and they are raising the bar for where other tournaments aspirations could be set.”
Shelley Villalobos, Managing Director of the Council for Responsible Sport, added: “After the Waste Management Phoenix Open achieved Gold, Evergreen and Evergreen Inspire over the past six years, we are excited that the tournament piloted this new certification through GEO. It represents the next step in validating the sustainability of golf tournaments and the Council is proud to have been part of the collaboration to develop the Standard for the certification, and to deliver the verification that enabled this accomplishment.”

Contacts and Information

About Waste Management

Waste Management, based in Houston, Texas, is the leading provider of comprehensive waste management services in North America. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides collection, transfer, recycling and resource recovery, and disposal services. It is also a leading developer, operator and owner of landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States. The company’s customers include residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers throughout North America. To learn more information about Waste Management, visit www.wm.com or www.thinkgreen.com. Media inquiries to Janette Micelli, jmicelli@wm.com, 602-579-6152 or Rob Myers, rob@rmprgroup.com, 602-317-6131.

About GEO Foundation

GEO is an international non-profit, entirely dedicated to advancing sustainability in and through the sport of golf. Established in 2006, GEO works closely with the golf industry, aiming to strengthen the social and environmental contribution of golf, help the sport credibly communicate its commitment and value, and champion sustainability in front of a large worldwide audience. In pursuit of this mission, GEO provides a suite of OnCourse® support programs for facilities, new developments and tournaments, and manages and assures golf’s externally-accredited and widely endorsed standards and certification system, GEO Certified®. Find out more at www.sustainable.golf. Media inquiries to Kelli Jerome, kelli@golfenvironment.org, +44 (0)1620 895 100.

Find the Waste Management Phoenix Open Certification Report at www.sustainable.golf/wastemanagementphoenixopen.

A new disease forecasting tool on the Syngenta Greencast turf management website now gives a clear picture of disease pressure across the UK – and a forecast of where there risk of infection is set to occur and will enable more informed actions.

Live Maps combine accurate weather forecast information along with proven disease prediction models, to foresee and track risks for up to five days before they occur.
Encompassing Google maps, users simply zoom in to their own area for a close up of detailed local information. The maps cover all key turf diseases, along with forecast changes in soil temperatures and a new feature for Grass Growing Potential.

Daniel Lightfoot, Syngenta UK Turf Business Manager, enthuses that one of the great advances of Live Maps for greenkeepers is the ability to visibly track conditions and risks progressing across the country – and giving time to assess action plans.

“Targeting preventative disease programmes during periods of infection risk, but before symptoms break out consistently maintains better playing surface conditions,” he advocated.
Daniel pointed out that STRI research had shown fungicide programmes based on proactive forecasting maintained better conditions using fewer applications over the course of the season, compared to routine application or treatment at the first signs of disease.

“Timing is the absolute key,” he advised. “Live Maps is a new way to better pinpoint the optimum application timing.” He believed that turf managers are going to have to get ever better at prevention in the future, to mitigate the impending loss of iprodione and to meet the increasingly stringent demands of today’s players
“Whilst products such as Instrata Elite have excellent curative activity on early disease stages with in the leaf, the results are consistently better and longer lasting if it can be applied before symptoms have broken out on the surface,” he added.

Danial believes the new Grass Growing Potential maps will be especially useful for aiding Primo Maxx application interval timing – enabling turf managers to focus on periods of peak growth and potentially ease off when conditions are less favourable.

“If you use Grass Growing Potential in conjunction with soil temperature, it could be highly beneficial for timing renovation or over seeding activities to get seedlings off to the best possible start,” he said. “It also has a role for predicting turf recovery and implications for the disease management programme.”

The Live Maps are available now free for all registered GreenCast subscribers, under the ‘Weather’ tab in the navigation bar.

The last rainy Wednesday in October saw a very successful event taking place in the cosy clubhouse of Royal Copenhagen Golf Club. A mixed crowd (108 in number) of Greenkeepers, Club Managers and industry associates from Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden had decided to spend their day at Scandinavia’s oldest golf club.

They were fully entertained by Chris Tritabaugh, Golf Course Superintendent at Hazeltine National Golf Club and Dr. Brian Horgan, Professor at University of Minnesota. The two Minnesotans gave their only second international performance of “The Doctor and the Super 2” with the focus on the Ryder Cup in 2016 at Hazeltine. But what a success!

Course Manager Ian Tomlinson from Rungsted Golf Club had brought his whole crew to Copenhagen and they weren’t disappointed. He said: “The presentation given by Chris and Brian was one of the most informative and educational seminars I have ever attended in my 41 years in the golf industry. We were given the ‘On job’ situation by Chris leading up to and including the Ryder Cup, and the data and theory side to turf management by Brian and they both nailed it. The questions from the audience just never stopped coming all day.”

The warm feeling was mutual on the American side. Brian Horgan comments: “A great visit. I was very impressed with the group participation yesterday. A lot of fun on our end.” And Chris Tritabaugh adds: “It is exceptionally rewarding to come to a different country and completely different culture, yet find our material holds just as much interest for those in our own city.”
The full house in Copenhagen will be followed by yet another full house when the Danish Greenkeepers Association’s Annual Conference is kicked off at Rønnes Hotel in Slette Strand, North Jutland in the middle of November. More than 130 greenkeepers are meeting for a 3-days action packed program ranging from Nature Conservation, Integrated Pest Management and Water Management.

Chairman Martin Nilsson comments: “We’ve had this set-up since 2010 and it’s just the place to be if you as a Danish greenkeeper wants to further your knowledge about modern turf management and wants to expand your network. And it’s great fun to be together again after a very long and challenging season.”

The Association’s AGM will also take place during the conference. This will see a change in leadership as Martin has decided to step down after 8 years as chairman. “I’m just plain tired after 8 very productive years as chairman of a small association. In my time the Board has been part of implementing the world’s toughest, yet successful pesticide legislation, launching the Golf Environmental prize together the Danish Golf Federation and launching the TORO Student of the Year Award together with Danish TORO distributor Reesink Turfcare DK. And our Associations economy has never been stronger. It has been a great journey.”

The launch of ISEKI UK & IRELAND is an exciting development showing great investment and commitment by ISEKI in these key markets. ISEKI UK ltd is a company formed with investment from ISEKI for the sole purpose of distributing the ISEKI range of products and growing market share and sales in the UK & Ireland Markets.

For the last many years, the ISEKI product line has been distributed in the UK and Ireland by Ransomes Jacobsen operating out of their facilities in Ipswich Suffolk. ISEKI would like to sincerely thank Ransomes Jacobsen for all their hard work and dedication over this period and look forward to building on this foundation.

The new ISEKI company will also be based in the Ipswich area and joining ISEKI UK in the new year as Managing Director will be ex-President of Jacobsen, David Withers.
Withers is well known in the industry having served for many years at Ransomes and Jacobsen and more recently working as a business consultant in the golf industry.

“I started working with Iseki when the product line came to Jacobsen in 1996 and have always enjoyed being involved with such an exciting and reliable product line. When ISEKI outlined their strategic vision of getting closer to the customers by investing in their own distribution in the UK it made sense to me” said Withers, who went on to say “I am really looking forward to joining Iseki UK in the New Year to head up this exciting new venture”

Kazuya Tani the European Managing Director of ISEKI said “This is an exciting time for ISEKI we will be investing more in marketing and promotions of the ISEKI brand and want to see a wider acceptance of our products through expanding our markets served and getting more share from existing customers. The commitment of ISEKI to the UK Market will be significant and we trust that the market will react positively to this approach”

More information will be issued over coming weeks and no changes are anticipated to the current dealer network.